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Darwin Correspondence Project

To L. C. Harrison   18 October [1881]1

Down.

Oct 18th

My dear Lucy

I am very sorry but I really can think of no suggestion to send to Mrs. Forsyth.2 It is difficult to observe anything new & requires much patience. I believe that the observer must first himself or herself become interested on the point or subject. The best plan is to read, think & speculate, & then some suggestion or doubt will occur, which can be determined or verified only by observation. I can do nothing but send these common-places.

Your affect. Uncle | Ch. Darwin

Footnotes

The year is established by an annotation, ‘1881’, in an unknown hand
Mrs Forsyth may be Anne Noel Forsyth.

Summary

Can think of no suggestion to send to Mrs Forsyth. "The best plan is to read, think and speculate and then some suggestion or doubt will occur which can be determined or verified out of observation."

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-13414
From
Charles Robert Darwin
To
Lucy Caroline Wedgwood/Lucy Caroline Harrison
Sent from
Down
Source of text
Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia
Physical description
ALS ** 2pp

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 13414,” accessed on 20 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-13414.xml

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